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On the 12 October, Accountex Summit Manchester welcomed over 2000 attendees to Manchester Central for a celebration of the Accountancy and Finance community. Over 100 software and service suppliers exhibited and came from as far as Malta and Israel. Visitors also had the opportunity to watch 32 CPD –accredited seminar sessions that covered everything from Cryptocurrency to Making Tax Digital. This year there were new editions to the show, including a photo booth and after show party which were both a huge success.
Portfolio Director, Caroline Hobden commented “Due to covid we spread the show over two days last year, so we could deliver a safer exhibition. But going back to ‘normal’ this time around has been amazing. We had 53% more attendees and are overjoyed that we’re attracting new people and that visitors are returning each year. The atmosphere had a real buzz as the industry were excited to catch-up with each other, watch seminar sessions and explore the range of different exhibitors.”
Caroline continued: “We’re so proud that our speaker programme was 54% female this year. We’re really trying to engage young and diverse visitors who are the next generation of the profession.”
“It’s a great way to stay connected with what’s going on.”
Katie, a Business Advisor from CHFB shared her experience: “It’s great to not only meet people but to get your brain flowing, because there may have been things that you haven’t thought of and things that your company needs which you didn’t even know existed. So apart from the networking, for us it’s about education and learning.”
Visitors browsed over 100 software and service suppliers including Sage, Xero, Wolters Kluwer, Dext, IRIS, FreeAgent and Intuit Quickbooks, alongside smaller, emerging companies such as Net Zero Now and Swoop.
Ciaran from Swoop Funding spoke about exhibiting: “The day has been fantastic. It’s lovely to have so many accountants in one room, to be able to share ideas and get feedback on our product and ultimately get access to customers directly.”
He continued: “It’s so important that we have events like this, especially for companies like us who are building products for accountants. If we’re doing that in the dark without talking to accountants, it’s very hard to build something for them that’s truly going to make an impact. By coming to events like this we can talk to them, learn from them and actually find out what it is they need.”
“There’s just so much to see!”
Four theatres held 32 seminars and panels of 60 industry leading speakers who took to the stage to discuss emerging industry topics, including the latest on penalty reform and social mobility.
Nick Elston, founder of Forging People and inspirational speaker. “Over the last couple of years one of the things we’ve lacked is community and commonality. At Accountex Summit Manchester it’s great to be able to spend time with other like-minded people and people that have the same shared goals and challenges. It’s crucial to come together and have open conversations, listening to great speakers and visiting all of the exhibitors.”
Save the date for Accountex London 2023
Accountex London is back at ExCeL London on 10-11 May 2023. To find out more information about the event and to join the mailing list, please visit: www.accountex.co.uk/london.
Accountex Summit Manchester 2023
An even bigger show will be returning on the 19 September 2023. You can find out more and register your interest here: accountexmanchester.com
